Fiji has launched a new national strategy and investment plan for its food system, alongside a second phase of an EU-funded programme to help deliver the work.
The Horizon 2030 Food Systems Strategy and the National Agrifood Investment Plan were launched in Suva on 14 August during an event titled "Fiji Food Systems Transformation – A Day of Action," the Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific informed on Wednesday, cited by the European External Action Service (EEAS).
The gathering at Novotel Suva, Lami Bay brought together Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, government ministers, the EU Ambassador to the Pacific, the UN Resident Coordinator, UN agencies, national institutions and development partners.
“Horizon 2030 provides directions. The investment plan provides the framework. The short-term investment plan provides the immediate pathway for action. Our task now is to deliver,” Rabuka said.
Horizon 2030 sets the country’s direction for “food systems transformation”, while the National Agrifood Investment Plan sets out investments intended to support it.
The plan includes an indicative investment envelope of FJD 26.5 million (about USD 11.7 million) across governance and coordination, resilient and inclusive value chains, nutrition and food security, and climate resilience and natural resources.
EU-funded programme moves into Phase 2
The launch also marked Fiji’s move into Phase 2 of the Scalable Success Model (SSM), a 36-month initiative funded by the European Union and coordinated by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, according to the EEAS.
The programme supports eight countries, including Fiji, to put national food system plans into practice.
Phase 2 in Fiji will support governance and technical arrangements linked to Horizon 2030 and the investment plan, including a technical working group, a National Agrifood Investment Forum and a public-private partnership framework.
Public-private partnerships are formal arrangements for government and businesses to work together on projects.
The European Union said Fiji already has duty-free, quota-free access to the EU single market.
“We deeply value our partnership with the Government of Fiji and remain committed to long-term, inclusive development across the country,” EU Ambassador to the Pacific Barbara Plinkert said.
Fiji is among 31 countries across Asia-Pacific to have taken their national food system pathways through to national endorsement, senior programme officer at the Food Systems Coordination Hub Antonio Salort-Pons said.
